This category covers the latest developments, policies, and innovations aimed at enhancing safety, security, and technological advancement in the maritime sector. It includes news and analysis on maritime safety regulations, ship security systems, port security measures, cyber security in shipping, navigation technologies, vessel monitoring systems, and emergency response mechanisms.
The section also highlights emerging maritime technologies such as automation, digitalization, smart ports, AI-based navigation, satellite tracking, and risk-management solutions that improve operational efficiency while ensuring compliance with international maritime standards. It serves as a reliable resource for policymakers, industry professionals, researchers, and stakeholders focused on safeguarding maritime operations and advancing secure, resilient, and technologically driven maritime systems.
London— The twelfth session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 12), held from 19 to 23 January 2026, concluded with significant progress on ship safety, environmental protection, and regulatory modernization, according to the address delivered by IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez.
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Drone footage has captured the successful rescue operation of the Omani-flagged crude oil tanker QENDIL, which ran aground off the coast of Bozcaada, Çanakkale, highlighting Turkey’s advanced maritime salvage capabilities.
The 249-meter-long tanker, en route from Aliağa to Yalova, grounded on January 4 after encountering a severe southerly storm. Although the vessel was empty at the time, it remained stranded for 12 days, prompting a carefully coordinated response by Turkey’s General Directorate of Coastal Safety.
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India has intensified diplomatic efforts to secure consular access for 16 Indian nationals detained by Iranian authorities after their vessel was seized last month, amid growing concern from families and legal action in Indian courts.
The Indian Embassy in Tehran on Saturday formally urged Iran to grant immediate consular access to the crew members of the tanker MT Valiant Roar, who were detained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on December 8, 2025.
Beijing, China – In a groundbreaking expedition, Chinese scientists have successfully deployed a manned submersible to explore one of Earth’s last untouched seafloors beneath the Arctic pack ice. The Fendouzhe submersible reached a depth of 5,277 meters to survey the previously uncharted eastern Gakkel Ridge, a volcanic underwater mountain range stretching between Greenland and Siberia.
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To support research aimed at strengthening the United States’ maritime industrial base, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has installed a new industrial robotic arm at its advanced manufacturing facility. The system, known as the RAMLAB MaxQ robot, will be used to study, test, and validate advanced repair and manufacturing methods, with the goal of identifying the most effective ways to transfer these capabilities to small businesses and industry partners.
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The United Kingdom is reportedly examining legal options to use oil seized from vessels linked to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” to help fund military assistance for Ukraine, according to The Times, citing a UK government source.
Russia has relied on a network of aging tankers, commonly referred to as the shadow fleet,to bypass Western sanctions imposed on its energy sector following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. British officials are now assessing whether proceeds from sanctioned oil cargoes could be redirected away from Moscow and toward supporting Ukraine’s defense efforts.
Unidentified drones struck two Greek-owned oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including a vessel scheduled to load Kazakh crude at Russia’s coast, according to officials. The incidents did not cause major damage and no injuries were reported among the crews.
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Iran has reportedly released the Greek-owned oil tanker St. Nikolas, which had been detained since January 2024, according to maritime intelligence firm Tanker Trackers. The move appears to conclude the prolonged detention linked to previous U.S. sanctions enforcement involving the same vessel.
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Türkiye, a leading player in the global armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/UCAV) market, is now leveraging its expertise in the maritime domain. As part of its strategy to protect maritime interests, Ankara has advanced the development of armed Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) within its modern naval force structure.
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UK ministers believe existing legislation gives the government legal authority to stop, board and detain oil tankers linked to so-called “shadow fleets” operating in and around UK waters, according to information understood by BBC News. These fleets are associated with countries such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela and are accused of using ships without valid national flags to evade international oil sanctions.
Read MoreOn Friday, the Brazilian Navy managed to save six passengers and two crew members of a plane that was an air taxi and had to make an emergency landing in the ocean 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) south of Cabo Frio in Rio de Janeiro .
Read MoreA normal port arrival was evolved into a complicated maritime emergency when a bulk carrier agrounded near the Hualien Port in Taiwan and a rescue tug, which was also disabled, grounded in the fierce weather. The event of strong monsoon winds and heavy seas also necessitated an aerial evacuation process by the Air Service Corps of Taiwan where a crewmember was injured in the incident.
Read MoreAccording to maritime security consultant Vanguard Tech, a Chinese fishing ship has been hijacked off a Puntland, Somalia, coast belonging to an infamous illegal-fishing fleet.
Read MoreTokyo Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has entered into two Heads of Agreement with JERA Co., Inc. to charter two very large gas carriers (VLGCs) that are specifically designed to carry ammonia. The ships will move low-carbon ammonia produced through the JERA-supported Blue Point Complex in Louisiana, USA, to the JERA-owned Hekinan Thermal Power Station in the Aichi Prefecture, which will become the first commercial scale low-carbon ammonia transportation program in Japan.
Read MoreThe United States has escalated its maritime enforcement campaign against Venezuela by tracking a third oil tanker near Venezuelan waters, according to a US official. The move signals a tightening of Washington’s pressure strategy aimed at the government of President Nicolás Maduro, particularly targeting the country’s oil exports, which remain the backbone of its economy.
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